Canton Schools Remain Below 'Critically Overcrowded' Threshold

CANTON, GA -- The 2016-17 Cherokee County Inventory of School Housing shows the impact of returning enrollment growth, and indicates several areas where additional classroom space will soon be needed.

This is according to the Cherokee County School District, which released its annual critical overcrowding report on Monday.

This year also marks the fourth consecutive year during which none of the school district’s schools are considered "critically overcrowded,” "reflecting long-standing successful management practices and school board policies governing student enrollment growth forecasts and school construction project planning," the system said.

The district uses its annual 20-day enrollment count to measure the percentage of overcrowding. Cherokee County School Board policy defines “critically overcrowded” as when a school exceeds 140 percent of its enrollment capacity and meets other criteria, including use of all existing portable classrooms.

Pursuant to the policy, the impact of actual student enrollment is evaluated annually after the 20th day of classes, which is when attendance traditionally peaks, to determine critically overcrowded schools and what, if any, action is needed.

Unfortunately, if portable classrooms were not available, 11 schools would be operating at 100 percent or more of their capacity.

The schools are: Free Home Elementary, Liberty Elementary, Woodstock Elementary, Creekland Middle, E.T. Booth Middle, Mill Creek Middle, Woodstock Middle, Cherokee High, Creekview High, Sequoyah High and Woodstock High schools.

Out of those 11 schools, five of these institutions are operating at more than 120 percent capacity, which is a decrease from seven reaching that level during the 2015-16 school year:

• Free Home - 126%
• Creekland - 126%
• Woodstock Middle - 121%
• Cherokee - 133%
• Sequoyah - 137%.

It should be remembered that, while portable classrooms provide relief for classroom instruction, they do not alleviate overcrowding in media centers, cafeterias, restrooms and hallways, the district adds.

Relief has been provided to Dean Rusk Middle School, which had one of the highest levels of overcrowding in the School District last year. With its opening this month, the district gained capacity at that location, and also at its four elementary feeder schools — Hickory Flat, Holly Springs, Indian Knoll and Mountain Road elementary schools — as the sixth-grade students from those facilities now attend Dean Rusk in its new 6th through 8th grade configuration.

Additionally, Sequoyah will add classroom capacity as it gains the original Dean Rusk Middle School facility into its footprint later this school year.

Cherokee County began its efforts to eliminate critical overcrowding in 2001 with a multi-tiered Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax plan proposed by a Blue Ribbon Committee of community leaders and approved by the school board for inclusion on a local ballot referendum.

This plan to “bond” future sales tax revenue, which has been extended twice by voters over the past decade, continues today with new construction and renovations, strategic land purchases, replacement school buses and emerging technologies for students and staff.

District staff continues to analyze this new data to determine recommendations that may be needed to address overcrowding in preparation for the next school year(s). Data is compiled and analyzed year-round to monitor not only enrollment growth, but also the local real estate market, development trends, local birth rates and other demographics in order to best determine when and where new and/or replacement school facilities are needed.

New and replacement school construction are funded by Ed-SPLOST revenue. In November, voters will have the opportunity to authorize the district to continue its capital outlay plans, as the school board has called for a renewal of the sales tax in November.

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